This week I started working on "Outsourced," the third book in the Carson/Lively/Eichmann trilogy.

In general, I enjoy developing first drafts more than any other activity in the writing process. What I like about it most is the way the story begins from a detailed outline and takes on a life of its own. No matter how good of a job I do with character and plot development, I have plenty of "ah-ha" moments when I'm doing the first draft.

For example, Aunt Min goes from a befuddled relative to an ardent communist who wouldn't hesitate to turn in a family member to the government. A chase scene through Beijing's Forbidden City becomes a heartstopping search for an escape route in the confusing maze of hundreds of structures and miles of paths.

The story just comes alive. Almost as if it happens by itself.

This book will be the last in the series, and I hope it will contain plenty of the twists and turns my readers have come to enjoy in my novels.